


Novo Amor

by YoongisHeaux



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - No Werewolves, Cuddling, Emotional Constipation, Friends to Lovers, I'm a sucker for college AU's so here's a sweet one, M/M, Mario Kart, Nightmares, Recreational Drug Use, Snuggling, Stiles gets the flu, Underage Drinking, and they were ROOMMATES, explicit things eventually, i won't get too into it though because i hate the whole kate argent storyline with a passion, its weed y'all, past trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2019-07-18
Packaged: 2020-06-28 08:47:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19808824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YoongisHeaux/pseuds/YoongisHeaux
Summary: Stiles, a jittery teen just out of high school enters his first year in college.Derek, facing the reality of his life after trauma, going back to complete his college education.They share a room, hell, they even share a bed sometimes. But can they share their true feelings with each other?





	1. Emigrate

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This fic has been sitting in my files for legitimately years. YEARS. Finally in a Teen Wolf mood again so here it be! I don't know how long the rest of the chapters will be and when I can update but enjoy this one! 
> 
> Lemme know if you have any wishes, requests or comments. Love u!
> 
> (ALSO, pls be patient I've never written Sterek before so it may take me a moment to get the personalities right etc.)

Stiles was beginning to think his roommate was never going to show up. He’d arrived hours ago, unpacked his stuff and was now sitting at the desk that was crammed between the head of the bed and the window. The room was basically just a big square shaped space with a bed and a desk on each side, and a dresser flanking either side of the door. There were two windows, one on either side, and the view from the second floor onto the quad was actually pretty nice. However, the prolonged wait for his roommate was making him nervous. He was the kind of guy who wanted to face things head on, and with the nightmares he’d had lately of all the different creeps he could possibly be rooming with his first year at college, he wanted to meet the guy as soon as possible. He wasn’t going to be able to do that if the guy never showed up. 

So, he picked out one of the books he’d brought with him and settled down cross-legged on the bed. He kept glancing up once in a while, as if his roommate could have arrived silently while he was reading about sharks and their reproductive cycles.

One long hour later the door slammed open so quickly Stiles felt like he got whiplash from how fast he looked up. He was going to get up and introduce himself but it seemed like the other boy was a bit busy at the moment. He was dragging two suitcases and wearing a huge backpack, and yelling towards the open door behind him.

The boy set down his things and Stiles had a moment to commit the other boy’s appearance to memory. He was, uh, a lot. Stiles could feel his eyes getting wider as he looked the other boy up and down. He was taller than Stiles, built like a brick house and had the most amazing stubble covering the lower half of his face. If Stiles hadn’t felt like an underdeveloped geek before, he did now. There was no way this guy was 19, right? 

He started setting his things down and turned around, most likely to rush back downstairs to get more things, and his eyes landed on Stiles. 

Derek didn’t like introductions. He’d gotten a lot better at them after therapy, learning to control his anxiety and the intrusive thoughts he had about how everyone hated him, but everything about coming back to finish his college degree felt like too much all at once. So, he felt intimidated by his roommate, knowing that the first impression he made was most likely going to last. 

The boy was skinny but lean, wearing a t-shirt and a flannel and a hoodie, which made Derek pause and wonder how warm the other boy must be at that very moment. He had wide brown eyes, hair that stuck up at the front like he’d been running his hands through it, and a smattering of moles across his face. There was a smirk on his face that seemed almost natural. Damn, his new roommate was cute. 

“Um, hello?” The guy was waving his hand in front of Derek’s face. Derek stepped back, eyes focusing again. 

“Oh, hi. I’m Derek, but you can call me Derek!” he said and pushed his hand towards the other boy. 

“Stiles.” The boy answered and shook Derek’s outstretched hand.

“Derek but I can call you Derek. Cool.” Stiles laughed and Derek felt a blush rising to his cheeks.

Okay, so Stiles did exude a kind of confidence Derek envied. However, he was not going to be intimidated by this boy! He wasn’t as tall as Derek, and definitely not as muscular. Derek grunted and turned back around, heading for the door to retrieve more of his stuff from the car parked below.

Hours later Derek had finished loudly unpacking what looked like half of his belongings, the rest strewn across the room haphazardly. The amount of things on Stiles’s side of the room was only slightly annoying, and he decided to give Derek until that night to move them. It was one thing for Stiles to live in his own little ecosystem between clean and dirty, but other people’s mess was a whole other ballpark. 

Derek was nibbling on a granola bar, trying to concentrate on his book but Stiles kept making so. much. noise. 

The boy had brought a playstation and a small TV, and was now making incredibly stupid noises while playing Mario Kart. Stiles was the kind of guy who would lift the controller when he wanted to jump in the game, just for the extra effect, and though it did make Derek laugh to himself, he had to admit he did the same thing. 

Three yells and a whoop later Derek had had enough.

“Can you please keep it down?” Derek asked, trying to mask his annoyance and seem as friendly as possible. 

“Oh, uh, I’m sorry! I didn’t realize I was being so loud.” Stiles said and turned back to his game.

Half and hour passed and Derek had read a page and a half of his book. He had no idea how someone could seem so confident in their playing abilities but be so bad at the game. Stiles was coming in fifth or sixth, behind the NPC characters, acting like he was god’s gift to the game. Derek couldn’t control himself after the fifth time Stiles fell off Rainbow Road. 

“May I?” Derek asked, standing next to Stiles’ bed, holding out his hand towards the controller. He wouldn’t normally do this, he reasoned, but it was painful watching Stiles suck at the game so bad. 

“I have another one if you want to challenge the master?” Stiles asked with a wink, way too cockily for someone who just fell off the goddamn road. He was sure Mr. Book couldn’t beat him at Mario Kart. 

“Prepare to lose Derek.” Stiles said with a cool tone.

“Hah, as if! And please, it’s Derek.” Derek replied with a smirk, glancing sideways at his new roommate. He had been a teeny bit worried about getting along with a stranger, but Stiles seemed like a good guy so far.

The cars on the screen were now waiting for the countdown to end.

3

2

1

And just like that they were off. Stiles kept off to one side, trying to dodge as many attacks as he could without falling off the bridge. He sent off a few of his own, which funnily enough kept hitting Derek’s car.

“Why do you keep bombing me with the shells dude?” Stiles snapped, leaning his whole body forward with the controller.

“It’s not my fault you keep hitting them.” Derek smiled, speeding up ahead. He was so far in front of Stiles that the view from his half of the screen was entirely different.

“Who even picks Princess Peach?” Stiles taunted, trying to find something wrong with Derek’s way of playing. He wasn’t expecting Derek having any actual skill at video games.

“I don’t see Mario doing you any favours right now.” His roommate laughed, leaning over to nudge Stiles’ shoulder. 

“Mario is the best, he’s the original dude, man!” Stiles defended, failing once again to successfully dodge a shell attack. He quickly looked up from his own screen at Derek’s and regretted the decision immediately.

“Oh my god. Best of three, I swear to god I’m not losing to you.” Stiles insisted as Derek slid into first place, Stiles coming in seventh. Three wins later and Stiles seemed no less confident, rather even more aggressive about playing until he beat Derek, like the other being better at Mario Kart was not possible in his mind. 

The boys played until late that night, both thankful that any tension in the room had dissipated during their battle.

...

Derek got up, had a quick shower and was just finishing up packing his bag for the 9am class as Stiles started muttering something incomprehensible from underneath his blankets.

“What’s that?” Derek asked, trying not to sound frustrated that he was going to be behind his schedule if he stayed in the room any longer. Sure in high school he hadn’t always been on time, but he wanted to make a good impression as a new student, especially since he knew more attention was going to be on him as a mature student.

He was met with more mumbles, the words still unclear and muffled. Frustrated, he walked over to Stiles’ bed and lifted the covers off his face. 

“Where are you going?” Stiles asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Derek looked, well, presentable, as opposed to Stiles who was still in his boxer shorts.

“I have a class in ten minutes. It’s a pre-req English thing.” Derek answered. He tore his gaze from Stiles’ pale chest and sleep-mussed hair and picked up his jacket, throwing it on and heading for the door.

“Wait, is it the one with Mrs. Caldwell?” Stiles yelled after him.

“Yes!” Derek said and closed the door behind him. He heard a thump, which was probably Stiles falling out of bed. 

Derek shook his head and walked up the hallway. He was not responsible for Stiles making it to class.

Ten minutes later Derek was sitting in class, had out his new notebook and pencils and was waiting for the professor to show up. The classroom was pretty full already, but there was a few seats left in his row. A tall curly haired kid made his way up the row and sat down next to Derek. He had a scarf looped around his neck and thought he looked nervous, he turned to Derek almost immediately after sitting down.

“Hi, I’m Isaac!” The guy said and turned to Derek.

“Hi. I’m Derek.” He replied and smiled politely. He wasn’t really big on conversation with strangers but the kid seemed friendly enough.

“What are you majoring in?” The kid continued as he opened up his notes. There were lyrics and sketches all over the margins of his pages.

“Oh um, I’m thinking maybe Marine Biology.” Derek replied, already prepared to defend his choice. Not everyone in his life had accepted it as a worthwhile subject for college. 

“Oh that’s so cool! I love Marine Biology! I’m going into Music Production.” Isaac continued, finding a blank page in his huge notebook.

“I’m not really interested in the pre-req classes but I did okay in English in high school so, this can’t be so bad.” He remarked conversationally, and Derek realised he was going to have to reply something as to not seem rude. This making friends thing was still alien to him.

“I like English, but the books are what really makes the cou-”

Derek stopped in his tracks as he heard the lecture hall door bang open and none other than Stiles rushing into the hall. The teacher wasn’t there yet, thankfully, but she entered the room right behind him. 

Oh, Stiles. He had enviable bedhead, what looked like a toothpaste stain on his blue t-shirt and a backpack that was so open his pencil case was almost falling out. Much to Derek’s chagrin the boy spotted him and waved, smiling widely.

“You know that guy?” Isaac asked, looking between the two.

“He’s my roommate.” Derek chuckled, sure to wipe the smile off his face as Stiles got closer. He felt like berating the kid but he wasn’t exactly his dad. 

Stiles made his way down to where they were sitting and took the spot right next to Isaac. 

“Hi, I’m Stiles!” He said and introduced himself to the taller boy. Before Isaac had a chance to reply the teacher had reached her podium and was now turning the lights down for her presentation.

For the next 75-minutes Derek concentrated on the lesson at hand. Mrs. Caldwell had interesting points concerning literary canon, and Derek couldn’t wait to see the reading list. Sure, he enjoyed other things more than reading, but he figured college was about learning all kinds of things and he was ready to commit himself to being an all round good student, having made it thus far. 

Stiles could not concentrate at all. Mrs. Caldwell reminded him of one of his high school teachers that had been a pain in the ass, and he couldn’t stop the automatic annoyance reaction. He felt embarrassed for how his roommate had seen him this morning. He was usually well put together, but college stressed him out more than he had expected and he feared he’d ruined his image forever now.

There was no more lessons for the day, just the orientation for the school’s sports teams. Before that Stiles wanted to get lunch.

“Yo Derek you wanna get food?” He asked as they were leaving the lecture hall.

“Can I come too?” Isaac asked, and Derek found himself agreeing. He’d made his first friends now.

...

After orientation the two of them walked back to the dorm, Isaac having left earlier to meet up with his own roommate. The air was nice and clear, a soft wind rustling through the leaves.

“Hey,” Stiles started.

“I feel like I made the wrong impression this morning, I’m usually more punctual I guess my alarm just didn’t ring and I was so beat from yesterday I-“

“It’s fine, don’t worry.” Derek clapped him on the shoulder, letting out a chuckle.

“Okay, cool. I just, I felt like I looked really childish and I swear I’m not, it’s just been me and my dad for as long as I can remember and I swear I’m responsible-“

“I said it’s fine Stiles. Honestly.” Derek stopped, grabbing Stiles by the shoulders.

“Just because I’m a bit older than you doesn’t mean I’m gonna act like your dad or uncle or anything, okay?” 

“Yeah! No, of course not! I don’t even think of you as older than me, dude.” 

Derek raised an eyebrow.

“Not that you seem 19, just. Okay. I’m gonna stop talking now.” Stiles slumped in Derek’s grip and the older man laughed again.

They were going to be just fine. Right?

...

Derek woke up with a start. He was sweating and breathing fast, the remnants of his nightmare leaving him as he sat up and shook the blanket off. This was the third time this week. He hoped he hadn’t woken up Stiles. At least one of them deserved a good night’s sleep. 

He picked up the water bottle next to his bed and took a sip. It was going to take him at least a few more hours to go back to sleep, if he could even fall asleep anymore. Often he stayed up the rest of the night in fear of seeing another nightmare, which just lead to him being irritated and on edge for the entire rest of the day, and then taking a really unsatisfying nap in the afternoon. He figured he could just stare at the ceiling until his eyes were too tired to stay open, and have a fitful sleep until the morning. He could hear Stiles breathing on the other side of the room, and his own heartbeat seemed almost deafening to his ears. He remembered a time in his life when he had had less nightmares, those times when he’d sleep in a huge bed with some of the other kids and their shared warmth kept the dreams at bay. But he was too used to being alone now, and the thought of being in such an intimate situation filled him with uncertainty. Who would even want to be that close to him?

Derek’s unsaid question was answered the next evening. He was settling down for bed, taking off his socks and changing into his shorts, shucking his shirt off for a ratty grey one with a faded Pepsi logo on it. Stiles was on the other side of the room on his laptop, having stripped off to his boxer shorts hours ago. He had a thing about not wearing clothes if clothes were optional, and so spent a lot of his time in their shared space in his underwear. It had made Derek incredibly uncomfortable the first few times, but as with all of the annoying things about Stiles, Derek had gotten used to it. 

“Hey, can you inform me when you’re gonna go to sleep?” STiles asked, turning around in his chair and facing Derek. Today his boxer shorts had tiny white skulls on them. 

“Uh, sure I guess.” Derek replied, lying down on his bed and pulling out his phone. Fifteen minutes later he turned the light off and put the phone on his desk. 

“I’m gonna sleep now dude.” He said and turned around to face the wall.

“Not that fast mister! We have an arrangement for tonight.” Stiles replied, getting up and walking to Derek’s bed. He sat down, waiting for the other man to turn around.

“An arrangement?” Derek asked. Either he had totally forgotten something or Stiles was making things up again.

“Yeah. I’m sleeping here tonight.” 

“Here? I mean, you always sleep here.”

“No, I mean here in your bed.” Stiles specified. 

Derek stared at him. 

“Why would you sleep in my bed?” He asked. He wasn’t sure if Stiles was trying for some kind of joke, but it wasn’t very funny.

“I’d like to sleep tonight, and I swear to god if you have another nightmare I will go crazy.”

“Nightmare?” Derek asked, unfazed. 

“Yeah. I’m not stupid. I can hear you get up every night and it wakes me up too.” 

“I’m sorry. But I don’t see how you sleeping in my bed is going to change anything.” Derek was getting annoyed now. Why did Stiles have to make this his business? This was nobody’s business except his. 

“I know for a fact that sleeping close to another person helps nightmares. There’s like, some kind of brain center comfort thing that happens, I don’t know the science but it works.” Stiles explained and it dawned on Derek that Stiles was actually being serious. He was going to try sleeping with Derek, in Derek’s bed, with Derek still in it.

“What if I don’t want you to sleep in my bed?” he asked, crossing his arms. 

“You don’t have a choice.” Stiles replied with an air of finality and started wrestling himself under the blanket. 

“I can’t believe you’re actually-” 

“At least try it dude. I want to sleep through the night just as much as you do, and I swear if it doesn’t work I won’t get in your bed ever again.” Stiles sighed, easily swinging himself next to Derek.

“Fine. But I’m warning you now, I will not have you drooling on my pillow.” 

Derek’s resolve crumbled and he made more space for Stiles on the bed. In the short time he’d known Stiles he’d learned that giving up and letting the boy have his way was usually the fastest way to resolve a fight, and though he usually didn’t want to do that, he was tired and just wanted to sleep tonight.

Stiles wriggled over to Derek, turning to face the wall as well, leaving a small gap between them. He wasn’t going to force cuddle the other man against his will. Much to his surprise, Derek wriggled backwards towards him, so that his back hit Stiles’ chest. Before he had a chance to make some smart comment he felt ice cold toes against his.

“OH MY GOD DEREK YOUR TOES ARE LIKE ICICLES” He whispered loudly, wrenching his feet away.

“I can’t help it! You’re the one who wanted to sleep in my bed Stiles. Suck it up.” 

“This better be worth it.” Stiles gritted his teeth against the cold and settled back down.

“Oh, and if I wake up with your feet in my mouth I’m officially requesting a new roommate.” Derek whispered, slowly relaxing his shoulders. Stiles laughed and set his head on the pillow closer to Derek’s hair.

“I’m the one getting a mouthful of your mullet.” He remarked, noting Derek’s already slowed breath. He had expected more of a resistance, but the older man was probably incredibly tired, having given up the fight so fast. 

“Good night.” He whispered into the silence of their room.

“Good night.” Derek whispered back.

…

Stiles woke up warmer than usual, his nose so close to Derek’s hair that the fine dark strands tickled his nose.. He could tell the other man was still asleep, his back indicating a slow rise and fall of breath. Distancing himself a bit, Stiles could see the large tattoo on Derek’s back. He wasn’t big on tattoos himself, but Derek’s one looked cool, almost effortless. It emphasised the muscles in his back. definitely. Before he realised he’d even done it, Stiles had raised his hand he was tracing the figure of the spirals, softly as to not wake Derek up. He was making his way up to the cross at the nape of the sleeping man’s neck, when suddenly Derek stirred, making a quiet mumbling sound to himself. Stiles startled, stilling his finger, hovering over the nape of Derek’s neck.

“What’re you doin’?”

Derek mumbled into his pillow, trying to turn around to face Stiles.

“Uh, tracing your tattoo.” 

“Oh, well then, please go on. Don’t let me stop you.” Derek snickered, closing his eyes again. He wasn’t going to turn down a cute guy touching him, and it was way too early to be self conscious about it or have some sort of moral dilemma about Stiles being younger, knowing he was going to have that talk with himself later on in the day anyway.

“No nightmares?”

“No nightmares.” Derek answered. As embarrassing as it was to admit it, Stiles’ technique had worked.

...


	2. Sleepless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm mixing points of view a bit in this so please bear with me! Also pls notice I've added tags for underage drinking (tho why the limit is still 21 in the US baffles me) and recreational drug use (its weed, the boys are not into heroin, fret not this is not that kind of fic)
> 
> Huge thanks for the kudos and comments thus far, y'all are angels!

It was a Friday night, and though Stiles was the one out of the two of them that was underage, he was dragging Derek out to a party. He didn’t catch all of the explanation Stiles had word-vomited all over him but he knew it was at a frat house, and that Stiles’ friend Scott was somehow involved. The two were walking down to the house along the street, the fall air nice and crisp against their warm faces. They’d pregamed a few beers at their dorm room, and sue him, but Derek hadn’t been able to resist drinking too, with how Stiles’ perfect lips wrapped around a bottle made him feel.

Stiles was no less chatty when drunk, so he was talking Derek’s ear off about sharks as they walked. Derek didn’t mind, not really. He felt nice and warm and, for the first time in a while, relaxed. 

The first hour of the party goes by in a blur, Derek feeling overwhelmed and out of place in the crowd full of teenagers. All he knows is that he’s sat on a couch, Stiles sitting right next to him, leaning on his shoulder mumbling about Star Wars.

“All I’m saying is like, the pseudo-romance plot with Kylo is gross, man.” 

Derek hums in response.

“Somehow I’m getting the feeling you’re not as invested in this as I am.” Stiles mutters. Derek laughs. 

The room smells like weed, and there’s way too little light and he can’t even feel his toes, but that all fades away with the way Stiles’ breath fans against his neck. 

“Do you want another drink?” Stiles asks, perking up from where he was leaning on Derek.

“Uh, sure.” Derek responds, rubbing his eyes. He feels way too old for this but Stiles seems to be having fun, and tonight that’s enough for Derek. Stiles reaches up to rub his eyes and the hem of his shirt rides up a little, revealing a small patch of pale skin at his hip. Suddenly Derek’s mouth is very dry. 

He can’t stop staring. Stiles had said something, waited for a second and then left, presumably to get those drinks. Derek feels like a creepy old man. He gets up and heads over to the bathroom, hoping some cold water will clear his mind. Stiles is still a teenager, for God’s sake. 19, sure, but still. Derek’s 24, and it’s times like these where he remembers just how much life experience he has over the younger man. He panics, which explains why he’s currently on the phone to his big sister Laura.

“Hello?” 

“Hi.” 

“Derek. It’s 10pm. You never call. What did you do?” Laura asks in quick succession.

“Am I not allowed to call my dearest big sister?” 

“Spit it out Der.” She sighs. 

“I think I have a slight crush on my roommate and he’s only 19 and I feel like I should be arrested or something.” Derek pushes all the words out at once and squeezes his eyes shut, waiting for his big sister’s disappointment, or berating, or anything really.

“You are aware 19 is a legal age, right?” Laura starts.

“You haven’t done anything wrong, and you’re not doing anything wrong by liking him Der. I don’t understand why is it so difficult for you to let yourself be happy! This is what the whole college thing was meant to be, to help you gain your confidence!” 

Derek leans against the bathroom wall, his forehead against the cold tile. 

“I just- I dunno Laura. He’s so pure, and I’m so fucked up.” Derek sighs.

“You are not fucked up! Oh my god Derek if I have to come down there-“ 

“You live in New York.” 

“I will get in my car and come beat your ass! I swear!” Laura continues.

“Let yourself be happy, for once. There’s no pressure, just get to know him. I promise everything will be fine. Honestly.” Laura’s voice has gone soft now, and Derek feels calmer.

“If you say so Laura.” 

“I say so Der. Now, I love you, but I have a glass of wine to finish.”

“Bye.” Derek mumbles into the phone, and with that, Laura is gone. 

Derek splashes his face with some cold water again, trying to gather his thoughts. Okay. Fine. This was going to be fine. He’d just have to walk out, hang out with Stiles all night and then go sleep in the same room as Stiles, all the while trying not to come off too strong but also somehow indicate he was having a good time with Stiles. 

Derek had no idea how Stiles had been able to worm his way through his emotional defences. He couldn’t help it, he had made a habit of looking over to Stiles whenever anything funny happened in class. He loved sitting next to the other in their room when they watched Netflix together, their shoulders brushing and both pretending like it wasn’t happening. He really liked Stiles already, and it was terrifying. 

What felt like hours later Derek wormed his way through the crowd back to the couch Stiles was already sitting on.  
“Dude! I totally thought you’d bailed on me!” Stiles shouted, smiling and spilling a little bit of the contents of his red solo cup onto his shirt.

“I went to pee, Stiles. I wouldn’t leave you here.” Derek rolled his eyes.

“I dunno man, I thought maybe this whole teenage bullshit got to you. I wouldn’t blame you, this shit is a bit lame.” Stiles explained, ending his sentence by downing the drink he was holding.

“You wanna drink that and then we get out of here?” 

Derek couldn’t say no to Stiles’ hopeful eyes.

…

“D’you know I’ve never kissed anyone?” Stiles whispered across the room, flailing his legs so that they’d both be free from underneath the blanket Derek had so carefully laid on him. 

“Uh. Okay.”

“It’s not like I never had the chance, you know? I just, I dunno. I didn’t want it to be shitty and juvenile. I want it to mean something for real. I dunno why I’m telling you this.” 

“That’s okay. I get your reasoning.” 

Silence falls once more. 

“What was your first kiss like?” 

Derek sighed, his eyes adjusting to the darkness of their shared dorm room. 

“She was older. I didn’t know what I was doing. I don’t remember it particularly fondly if I’m being honest.” 

“Oh.” Stiles responded. “I mean, that’s cool man.” 

“If that’s what you wanna call it Stiles.” 

“Derek?”

“Go to sleep Stiles.” 

…

God fucking damnit, Derek was frustrating to live with. The older man thought it was totally cool to show up in their room in the mornings after his showers only wearing his towel around his waist. As if Stiles’ hormones weren’t raging already, seeing his cute older roommate with droplets of water flowing down his goddamn perfect marble abs didn’t exactly help the situation. The best part was Derek didn’t even realise what he was doing, or the effect it was having on Stiles. If he did know, he’d surely have stopped doing it weeks ago, right?

It was driving Stiles absolutely crazy. The way Derek carried himself was calm, sometimes even a bit shy, but smart. He didn’t push Stiles around, talk shit about other people, or even seem aware of how darn pretty he was. Stiles had seen more than one of the girls in one of their prerequisite classes staring at him with wide eyes, and Stiles couldn’t relate more.

It didn’t help that Derek was one of the kindest people Stiles had ever met. He was accommodating, made sure Stiles ate proper meals, reminded him about deadlines and even helped out by proofreading some of the rambling texts Stiles tried to transform into essays. He was almost painfully nice, which meant it was impossible to dislike him, even though all Stiles wanted to do was ignore the older man so he could get rid of his incredibly awkward crush. 

Stupidly, when one of his friends had offered him a blunt in exchange for Stiles doing his homework for a class, Stiles had accepted. God knows he needed to relax, and with the way his mind had been racing lately he really wanted to chill the fuck out. He hadn’t even thought about Derek’s reaction, or, god forbid, Derek wanting in on it.

“I mean, why not. It’s been years.” Derek shrugged as Stiles passed him the weed. Stiles had already taken a few hits, his bones feeling nice and loose already, leaning his back against the wall behind his bed. 

Derek took a long pass, his eyes closing in the process. Stiles could not stop staring. Derek’s eyes opened but Stiles didn’t look away. Couldn’t look away.

“You wanna come sit over here?” Stiles asked, patting a spot on the bed next to him. 

Derek slinked over wordlessly, handing over the blunt as he settled in next to Stiles.

They spent the next ten minutes or so passing back and forth in relative silence. 

“I hope you don’t think I’m a bad influence, being the adult here and all.” Derek said, his throat feeling like the driest place on earth. 

“Of course not! Like I said, I don’t really think of you as that much older than me, dude.” Stiles responded.

“How old even are you?” 

“I’m 24.” 

Somehow it felt so easy and light to just say it now, the air thick with, well, smoke but also an unspoken sense of camaraderie. 

“That’s cool. I’m 19.” 

“I know that Stiles.”

“Yeah.” Stiles giggled and leaned towards Derek. He’d smoked the last of the blunt, laying the leftover on his bedside table. 

“So, dude, are you like, really religious or something?” Stiles broke the silence that had been building up easily.

“Um. Nope. What gave you that idea?” Derek laughed. Everything seemed so funny and also like it didn’t really matter.

“Cause, you know, you haven’t hooked up with any girls yet. When I saw you I was so sure I’d show up one night to a sock on the door or something, right?”

Derek can’t figure out how to answer Stiles’ question, if it even was a question.

“Um. I’m pretty shy.” Derek tried, to which Stiles responded by putting his finger on Derek’s lips.

“Shh…No lies Der. No lies.” 

Stiles giggled at the exasperated look on Derek’s face.

“I guess I just haven’t found the right person, Stiles. I dunno what to say.” Derek sighed, scrubbing his hand across his face. God, he felt so tired. 

“Okay. Fine. That’s a fair explanation. Just like, wasn’t sure how you’d react if I ever brought someone over.” 

Derek’s breath pauses at the thought of Stiles sleeping with someone in their shared room, their own space.

“You can do what you want, just let me know in time.” Derek said, trying not to sound too wooden.

“Yeah.” Stiles sighed, eyes trained on something in the distance.

“Yeah.” 

…


	3. Anchor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just a wee update because I've been super busy moving countries and packing all my shit up, I'll continue with actual proper plot next week!
> 
> Thank you again to y'all for supporting, I really appreciate it!

They’re nearing midterms, everyone is stressed and hustling to get their term papers done, which is when Stiles’ body decides to quit.

He wakes up one morning feeling like he’s rooming with the devil with how warm it is, but as soon as he gets out from underneath his covers it’s freezing. 

“Derek, could you maybe turn the heating off?” Stiles chatters, hugging his knees to his chest, shirtless but wearing his customary Batman pyjamas. 

“Yeah sure, wait I’ll just-“ Derek turns around and blanches. Stiles looks even paler than usual, and he’s shivering so hard Derek can hear his teeth clacking together. Worry makes its way down to the pit of his stomach.

“Stiles, I think you might be sick. How are you feeling?” Derek asks, already halfway to where Stiles is huddled. He puts his hand across the younger’s forehead. It’s burning hot.

“Uh. Mostly like I’m in hell and also Elsa’s here? And she’s using her like, ice power, and blasting it at me? But I’m in a desert and it’s super hot.” Stiles starts and Derek can tell immediately that the boy is delirious. 

“I’m gonna get a thermometer from the RA, stay where you are!” Derek instructs the younger, grabbing a smaller blanket off his bed and wrapping it around Stiles’ shoulders. 

…

“Okay so you definitely have a fever, we need to keep it down so I’m gonna go get some medication for you, I’ll also get some soup and food, do you need anything else?” Derek questions Stiles, who is currently laying down on his bed with all the blankets in their shared room piled on top of him. Derek’s trying to get the younger to sweat the fever out. 

“Uh. Yeah. I’m good.” Stiles mumbles.

“Can you swallow pills, or should I get you the crushed kind?” 

“I can swallow. Yeah.” Stiles half-laughs, half coughs. He winks at Derek but it doesn’t really work, both his eyes shutting and staying closed after. 

Derek barks out a laugh, mostly out of surprise, but heads to the store immediately. It’s not like he doesn’t have term papers and studying to do of his own, but seeing Stiles like this is heartbreaking and he wants to do all he can to make the other boy feel better as soon as possible. He blames it on his big brother instinct, really.

He’s back twenty minutes later and Stiles is snoring loudly, which is a blessing because the boy is absolutely still, and Derek would’ve worried endlessly about him being dead. 

“Stiles, c’mon buddy, you gotta get up for a second and take this.” Derek coaxes, kneeling next to the bed holding a glass of water and some painkillers. They should take his fever down a little and then, if he keeps taking them at the correct intervals, the fever should stay down until it’s out of his system.

“Are you an angel?” Stiles mumbles, rubbing his eyes and taking the glass and the medication from Derek. 

Derek laughs but stays where he is, watching Stiles take the medication. 

“I’ve written all the times you should be taking more medication up on the whiteboard on my wall, okay?” 

“Wow. I’m impressed Der.” Stiles smiles weakly, Derek’s heart jumping at the nickname. Not everyone calls him that. 

“I’ve got class in half an hour, but I’ll be back in time to heat up some of the chicken soup I got at the grocery store.”

“You’re too good to me Dr. Hale.” 

And with that, Stiles is back to sleep. Derek sits at his desk for a moment, gathering himself. Okay, it was all gonna be fine. Stiles was going to keep taking his medication and eating, and drink enough water, and he was going to be right as rain in no time. 

…

“Derek do you think if Simba’s dad had shown him the kingdom in the dark he’d have said ‘everything that the moon touches is yours’ or not?” 

Derek turns around, hunched over a book at his desk.

“Uh.” 

“Do you think Timon and Pumba were gay? How would that even work? Maybe they were just good friends. What do you think Derek?”

“I think you need to take more medication is what I think.” Derek smiles, checking the board.

“HEy hey hey. Wait a second mister.” Stiles responds, holding up both his hands from where he’s sat up in bed, pillows against the wall and the blanket tucked up underneath his armpits. “I already took my medication. This ain't no fever dream, these are valid culturally relevant questions is all.” 

“Okay, well.” Derek sits on the side of Stiles’ bed. “First of all I don’t think Simba’s dad would’ve showed him anything in the dark, because then he wouldn’t have been able to see what his kingdom actually was.”

Stiles nods in agreement.

“Secondly, I think their relationship probably depends on what you think it is. Not every animal expresses their sexuality through sexual intimacy, like, penguins just couple up and raise their young but they don’t have sex.” 

“You make some really good points. I mean, I never thought about the penguin thing like that.” 

“I am in college, after all.” Derek winks and Stiles dissolves into a coughing fit. 

“Fuck, I never see those coming.” Stiles rasps as Derek hands him his glass of water. 

“Hey, can we watch a movie?” Stiles suggests. “I’ve been so bored just laying here, dude.” 

“Let me finish my paragraph and we can pull something up on Netflix.” Derek jumps back to his desk for a moment as Stiles whines. “Be quick! I’m literally dying of boredom!” 

Derek has never typed so fast in his life. Five minutes later he’s settling in next to Stiles, up against the wall with his laptop in the middle, on top of the blankets in Stiles’ lap. 

“Okay, so what are you feeling like today?” Stiles asks. 

“I’m cool, you pick.” 

“Please dear lord don’t tell me you’re one of those people Der! You must have an opinion too!” Stiles shakes Derek’s shoulder, exasperated. 

“Okay, okay. Something with action, it’s easier to follow.” 

“I know just the thing.” Stiles grins, which is how, half an hour later, the two are a third into Vampire Academy. 

“Really, Stiles?” Derek sighs again, another cringey teenage moment playing out on the small screen in front of them. 

“This is a cinematic masterpiece and if you can’t appreciate teen drama we can’t be friends anymore.” Stiles crosses his arms over his chest and looks to Derek defiantly. Derek sighs and goes back to watching the movie. If it made Stiles happy he’d watch it. He’d watch it ‘till the very end.

There’s still fifteen minutes left of the movie but Stiles is asleep against his arm and Derek doesn’t want to move him, so he just mutes it and tries to stay as still as possible. The younger’s face looks so relaxed like this, creases smoothing out. His nose slopes up just slightly, and it’s probably one of Derek’s favourite features of Stiles’. 

Stopping himself from going down that path, Derek concentrates instead on what’s happening on screen. He’s so focused on not fantasising about Stiles that he doesn’t even realise when the film ends and Netflix starts blaring a loud ad at him. Stiles startles awake.

“Well, what did you think?” He yawns. 

“I’m not gonna say anything, so we can still be friends Stiles.” Derek says, all fake serious until he can’t help but smile at the other man. 

“It wasn’t that bad!” Stiles mumbles and closes his eyes again, snuggling back up against Derek.

“Uh, I should probably-“ 

“Can you stay? Please?” Stiles says, face against Derek’s arm, his lips brushing against the fabric of his henley. 

“I mean, if that’s what you want?” 

“Yeah.” The other sighs and Derek gets up to move the laptop.

“I’m just gonna get ready for bed and then I’ll be right back next to you. I promise.” Derek whispers. Somehow it feels so intimate he doesn’t want to speak at a normal volume, feeling like it’ll break the spell that’s settled over their room.

Derek brushes his teeth and changes into his pyjama bottoms, sliding in next to Stiles in the bed. The other seems to already have fallen asleep again.

“Nope, other way.” Stiles whispers as Derek settles, and turns around so Derek’s the one cuddling him. “My turn to be little spoon.” 

Derek tries to stay as still as he can, hyperaware of the other boy’s body pressed up against his chest, the boy’s ass right against his crotch. The younger is sick for god’s sake, Derek needs to get his mind out of the gutter! 

“Relax Der, it’s just spooning.” 

Derek blushes but breathes in deeply, trying to relax his body. Stiles shuffles in, impossibly closer, and Derek can’t help but bury his face in the younger’s neck.


End file.
